1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an array substrate and a method for manufacturing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an array substrate for display devices and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
An array substrate of a display device primarily includes thin film transistors and other electronic components. Generally, five or more photolithography process steps are employed to manufacture the array substrate. The semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor is usually made of amorphous silicon. The insulating layer is typically made of inorganic oxide or nitride such as silicon oxide and silicon nitride. However, the semiconductor layer and the insulating layer are fabricated by a chemical vapor deposition process which is carried out at a high temperature. Accordingly, the substrate must be made of a high temperature-resistant material such as glass, and thus renders the array substrate rigid and inflexible.
It is important to develop flexible display devices because the demand for flexible, lightweight, and thin display devices is increasing. The manufacture of flexible array substrates for such flexible display devices requires five to six photolithography process steps.
Therefore, there exists a need of providing an improved method that reduces the number of photolithography process steps and manufacturing costs.